Sajjad (Epithet)
Sajjād (Arabic: السَجّاد) literally means one who prostrates frequently.[2] It is a renowned title of Imam al-Sajjad (a), the fourth Imam of the Shia.[3] He was given the title "Sajjad" because of his frequent worship and prostration and his devotion towards God.[4]
According to a hadith from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a) in the book Ilal al-sharayi', Imam al-Sajjad (a) prostrated on the following occasions:
- When remembering a blessing from God
- When reciting a Quranic verse in which prostration is mentioned
- When God repelled an evil from him
- When God frustrated a plot against him
- After the prayer
- When he succeeded in reconciling two individuals.
The Imam (a) had marks in all the seven positions of prostration on his body, which was why he was given the title "Sajjad" (frequent prostrator).[5] Ibn al-Hammad, a fourth/tenth-century Shia poet, wrote a poem about Imam al-Sajjad’s (a) worship and prostration:
“ | و راهب أهل البیت کان و لم یزل *** یلقّب بالسجاد حسن تعبد
یقضی بطول الصوم طول نهاره *** منیباً و یفنی لیله بتهجّد فأین به من علمه و وفائه *** و أین به من نسکه و تعبّد |
” |
Translation: The ascetic from the Prophet's household was given the title "Sajjad" due to his well-done worship, fasting all days while moaning toward God and spending his night in vigilance. Who is like him in knowledge and faith, and who is like him in supplication and worship?
See Also
Notes
References
- Al-Jazāʾirī, Niʿmat Allāh b. ʿAbd Allāh. Riyāḍ al-abrār. Beirut: Muʾassisah-yi al-Tārīkh al-ʿArabī, 1427 AH.
- Ibn Shahrāshūb, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib. Edited by Ḥāshim Rasūlī. Qom: Nashr-i ʿAllāma, 1379 Sh.
- Khunjī, Faḍl Allāh. Wsīlat al-khādim ilā al-makhdūm: dar sharḥ ṣalawāt chāhārdah maʿṣūm. Edited by Rasūl Jaʿfarīyān. Qom, 1375 Sh.
- Qarashī, Bāqir Sharīf al-. Ḥayāt al-Imām al-Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn. Beirut: Dār al-Aḍwāʾ, 1409 AH.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. ʿIlal al-sharāʾiʿ. Edited by Sayyid Muḥammad Ṣādiq Baḥr al-ʿUlūm. Najaf: Manshurāt al-Maktaba al-Ḥaydariyya, 1385 AH/1966.
- Ya Sajjad, Muhammad Al-Mushrafavi's page on Pinterest. Accessed: 2023/04/21.